Discussions

Dear Sirs, I ordered goods from a Chinese internet-shop and transferred 1.083 USD to it´s account (site address is: XXXX.com).

Bank name: Bank Of China Putian Branch

First Name: Ju....

Last Name: W..

Account #: 4552301-0188-xxxxxx-1

Swift: BKCHCNBJ73C

Account #: 4552301-0188-xxxxxx-1 is our account.

(passport)nameplate data : BKCHCNBJ73C The money was transferred through Sberbank of Russia almost three weeks ago but the Chinese supplier says that they did not receive the money. Is it possible that I am dealing with scammers? Is it possible to verify through the bank that the money was received by the beneficiary? Thank you! Konstantin. , 21.07.2010

: Dear Konstantin,

We have analysed your situation and have the following comments:

1. You ordered the goods from a company but transferred the money to a private account. It is a bad sign.
2. In the correspondence the seller asked you first to transfer the money by Western Union. This is another serious "red flag".
3. In the transfer details that you received from the supplier the SWIFT and passport numbers are identical. This is very strange.
4. The supplier is using free email services (@gmail.com and hotmail.com). This is very unusual for a solid company.
5. There are no factory, office or warehouse addresses on the site and this is very strange, especially for a manufacturing company.

You can ask your bank to trace the transfer and confirm that the money was received by the beneficiary´s bank. If the money was received but the supplier refuses to accept this it is very possible that you are dealing with scammers.

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I ordered a mobile phone from China and paid by The seller received the money and stopped talking to me, his phone is switched off. He never replied any email and I received no phone. Can I return my money? I have sent 454 USD.

Does anybody know if it is possible to place small orders in China and not be cheated? // Nick S. , 12.04.2010

: We are sorry but it looks like you became a victim of a scammer. It it almost impossible to return money sent by Western Union or any other similar services. If anybody asks you to send the payment by Western Union, Money Gram etc., it is almost 100% scam.

The amount you have lost is very small to involve a lawyer as the fees will be much higher than the money lost.

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Our company imports foods from different countries. Our biggest risk is to make advance payment and receive neither products nor our money back. Can we somehow protect ourselves? Many suppliers reject to work without pre-payments. // Николай Петрович / Nikolay , 20.01.2010

: We recommend the exporters to use "Pre-payment Return Guarantee". If the exporter fails to fulfil his obligations his bank will return you your money. If the exporter´s bank refuses to issue the guarantee, be careful. This means that the bank does not trust the seller.

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Can the issuing bank stop the payment under irrevocable Letter of Credit? // Alexandro M., 11.03.2009

: Yes, it can. Such cases are very common.

See our news dated 11.03.2009

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What payment terms can you recommend when selling to West Africa? // Mr.Wang, 28.11.2008

: We strongly recommend irrevocable L/C at sight, confirmed by a prime European or US bank. 100% prepayment will work fine. Alternatively you can evaluate possibility of 50% prepayment and 50% remaining against faxed copies of export documents. It is worth mentioning that buyers from certain countries like, for example, Ghana, can provide insurance guarantee from top international insurance companies.

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We made a contract with a company, located in one country. The buyer informed us that the payment would come from another company registered in a another country. Have you heard anything about such practice? // Antonio, 03.11.2008

: You should not be alarmed as long as you are paid in full, preferrably in advance. Companies from Eastern Europe often use this way of payment. Just keep a proper track of each transaction (ask the buyer to put contract or invoice number, or any other identification of each payment to the payment explanation).

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